Opportunity

Redefining Energy Consumption for Mobile Networks

The Megawatts Behind The Megabytes

Mobile networks must keep up with ever-increasing network demands. The global uptake of smartphones introduced countless mobile and applications and services for consumers that require more and more capacity to operate. Unlimited mobile data packages are also driving the expansion of network loads. It is estimated that monthly mobile data traffic worldwide will surpass 24.3 exabytes by 2019, as compared to 2.5 exabytes in 2014.

In fact, powering mobile networks accounts for 3% of global energy consumption. If the mobile networks industry were a nation, it would be the 7th most energy-consuming nation in the world, after Germany.

Today's mobile networks aren't designed to employ network resources dynamically, based on demand. This limitation results in diminished capacity and high OPEX costs.

The energy consumed by base stations is the main contributor to high network costs. Radio Access Networks (RAN) currently account for 90% of base station power consumption. RAN costs are expected to grow another 60% by 2020, eventually amounting to 30% of the total cost of network operation. The inability of base station efficiency gains to keep up with traffic growth makes matters worse.

As demand continues to grow, mobile operators will need to provide more bandwidth in heavily populated areas as mobile services evolve. These operators must increase capacity at existing locations to cover demand during peak hours. Since off-peak load is not expected to increase at the same rate, the gap between peak and off-peak demand will continue to grow, along with energy wastage.

Did you Know?

Watching 1hr/week of HD video
on a tablet via cell network
consumes more energy thana new refrigerator uses in a year

The Energy Opportunity

eVolution Networks’ Smart Energy Solution has proven that by analyzing network data and traffic, mobile network operators can effectively “right-size” power consumption and cut their electric bills by up to 35% annually. For operators, this means millions of $ saved each year, and a profitability increase of 10%.

Mobile Networks and the Environment

Each megawatt saved prevents 0.54 tons of CO2 from being emitted into the air. Applied globally,eVolution Networks’ Smart Energy Solution could reduce global energy consumption by one percent - the equivalent of Spain's total energy consumption for 2014.